Snow White and the Harpies Wings
by Madam Ionah
Summary: Filmation Fanfiction where Snow White is about to marry her prince when a wicked Sorceress bursts into the castle chapel demanding that the Prince marry her when he refuses, everyone Snow knows gets frozen and abducts the prince. Helpless and with few options, Snow turns to unlikely help to rescue her beloved. A wingless Harpy and Lord Maliss. Image belongs to Axsens from DA
1. Chapter 1

It was the big day, Snow White was finally going to marry her handsome prince and everyone in the kingdom was invited. A day prior, the prince managed to find the seven dwarfs that originally helped Snow. With them, the seven dwarfelles, all the peasants, and Mother Nature it was quite a ruckus even before the ceremony. Even Scowl and Batso managed to show. There were food and wine in abundance. In the Bride's dressing room, Snow is putting the finishing touches on her veil. She had not been allowed to choose the dress, as it was a gift from the prince. Looking at herself in the mirror, she did not mind the dress he chose for her from a neighboring kingdom, though she secretly still wished he had given her the choice. Snow was suddenly surprised by a knock on her door.

"Come in."

It was Mother Nature, smiling at Snow with a kind face. "I just came to see how you are doing. You look so wonderful." She sighs.

"Do you really think so?" Again she looks at herself in the mirror, "It isn't too pretty?"

"Oh don't be silly, you are breathtaking. Now, don't forget that you need to be at the altar in five minutes. Being fashionably late is not good behavior on a wedding day." With that, she was out of the room and Snow was alone again, staring at herself in the mirror. Perhaps these jittery feelings were normal before a wedding.

After smoothing her dress out for the ninth time, tucking away a stray strand of hair that simply wouldn't comply, and straightening her veil, snow was ready and about to step through the two doors separating her from her prince when there came a roaring crash from outside the door. Shaking with worry, she carefully opened her door and peered outside; except for a freezing gust of wind, the hallway was empty, but the door to the chapel was wide open. From her vantage point, Snow could see into the chapel at the scene unfolding. There, in the aisle, stood, from what Snow could see, a gorgeous woman with fiery hair, in a red and gold form-fitting dress, and jet-black wings jutting out from her back.

"I see you have prepared everything for my wedding, dear King." Her voice was as sweet as honey, but with a vaporous undertone. Her sharp yellow eyes were set on the King, who was standing beside his son.

"Lennore, you are b-b-back." Stuttered the King in surprise. The rest of the congregation had fallen silent in shock.

"Of course, I am back. Why wouldn't I come back for the wedding you promised me. I see my groom is the most handsome man I have seen in ages."

"This wedding isn't for you. It is for my fiancé Snow White!" blurted out the Prince before his father could stop him.

"Who? I am sorry, but that was not the agreement your father and I made years ago. Now, say 'I do' and we can be on our merry way to my castle in the mountains." Her voice remained sweet, but her eyes narrowed at the Prince's protest. Lennore didn't even waste a thought on Snow White.

"N-No, I won't marry you. I won't marry anyone other than Snow White." It was at that point that Lennore's smile began to falter and the look in her eyes could kill.

"Well, young man, you are not given the choice." Replied Lennore and walked up the Prince, grabbing his wrist.

"Hold it there missy!" Called Mother Nature and shot up from her seat in the pews and aiming a blast of magic at Lennore. The small cloud of glittery mist hit Lennore in the face. From Lennore's ornate red hair sprouted several green sprouts; however, Lennore remained unmoved.

"Isn't this cute." She stated bluntly and simply waved the sprouts away. "Now, it is my turn." With that, Lennore lifted her hand and took aim at Mother Nature. Her eyes glowed a bright orange and she shot out a blast of her own magic. Within the blink of an eye, Mother Nature was turned to stone. Snow White wanted to run to her friend's aid, but her legs would not obey and her voice froze in her throat; every instinct in her body urged her to stay hidden.

"Suck on lighting you hag!" shouted Thunderella as she shot up from her seat in the pews and began to conjure a thunderstorm, but she too quickly got turned to stone.

"Looks like I have to do this the hard way." Said Lennore in a calm voice and snaps her fingers. From them, a bright flash of light filled the chapel and Snow ducked behind the door fearing that looking at the light would blind her. From her hiding place, she heard a swishing sound and someone calling her name, then everything fell silent. Leaning against the door, Snow shook with every fiber of her being, she did not need to look to know who had been abducted and she feared what she would see if she opened the door. There was only one reason everything was so deathly silent.

After a minute of catching her barring, Snow White opened the door to take a look at the extent of the damage, to her horror, her worst fears turned out to be true. Everyone, the king, the peasants, the dwarfs, dwarfells, Mother Nature, everyone was turned to stone with expressions of shock and horror on their faces. With tears welling in her eyes, Snow White walked down the aisle that was meant to signal the happiest day of her life; there was no way it could have gone worse. Her prince gone and everyone she knew and loved turned to stone, what was she to do?

Her eyes roaming the sea of stone statues, they fell upon poor little Thunderella and Snow let out a small cry. The little dwarfell only wanted to help and paid dearly for it. With her face streaked with tears, Snow approached the little stone statue and wrapped her arms around the dwarfell before sobbing her heart out. Hugging her friend, she wished nothing more than to trade places with her and all the others. She thought it should have been her turned to stone if all that Lennore was after was her fiancé.

She must have been kneeling beside her friend sobbing for hours, as her wedding was scheduled for the early midday and by the time her tears ceased it was early dusk, with the windows showing the orange sky from the outside. To Snow's surprise, she heard voices coming from just outside the chapel; from what she could hear it was one man and one woman having a heated discussion.

"I am telling you she was here!" shouted the women, clearly aggravated at her companion.

"I do not doubt that, but I doubt she is still here or that we could find anyone able to help us." Countered the man, "Besides, with everyone else in the kingdom we have come across the way being turned to stone, I doubt she would have left any survivors.

So the damage wasn't contained to the chapel alone.

Snow remained where she was, unsure if she could trust the only other living people in the kingdom. Still shook up from the events the transpired earlier, she shrunk down when she heard the two strangers enter the chapel.

"See, I told you she isn't here anymore nor is someone here to could help us." Said the man and to Snow's surprise, she found the voice familiar, though she could not put her finger on it. Carefully and quietly, snow sank down to the ground and tried to look at the strangers from between the pew legs to see if she could identify them. To her surprise, she saw only one pare of male boots. Before she had the time to think, she felt herself being grabbed and dragged to her feet.

"Found a survivor!" called the women who grabbed her. The woman was tall, thin, with blond hair that hadn't seen a comb in ages, and piercing yellow eyes.

"Let go of me!" cried Snow and attempted to struggle against her capture, to no avail.

"And she is a feisty one!"

"Great, maybe she saw where Lennore went." Said the man and approached Snow and the woman, though Snow could not immediately identify her captor's male companion because she was still struggling against the women's iron grip. It wasn't until Snow heard the man speak up in surprise.

"You, what are you doing here?" Snow White froze when she finally recognized the person that voice belonged to. How could she forget the man that had tried to kill both her and her prince? Shaking from fear she finally met eyes with the evil sorcerer.

Lord Maliss.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, look who we have here, poor little Snow White ruined on her biggest day." Mocked Lord Maliss noting Snow's wedding dress. Though to Snow's surprise, his companion did not share his knowledge about Snow's existence.

"Wait, you two idiots know each other?" said the women, holding Snow at an arm's length in order to look at both Snow and Maliss at the same time. "How the hell did a good-lookin' girl get to know that piece of work?"

"He attempted to kill my prince and turn me to stone!" explained Snow while struggling against the women's iron grip, however it was no use.

"Well why did you try that?" she addressed Maliss with a raised eyebrow. Clearly, she was at terms with him where she could talk with him as she pleased, as not even the prince dared to speak to his own father like this.

"She caused my sister's death." With that, the woman's yellow eyes snapped back to Snow.

"I never intended this. I was poisoned and asleep when she died. I played little, if any, part in her demise." With that, the woman's eyes snapped back to Maliss, clearly trying to figure out the truth through two different viewpoints. However, whether because of Maliss untrustworthy appearance or Snow's pleading eyes, the woman raised an eyebrow at Lord Maliss.

"Were you there when she died or did you find out about her passing from a second-hand source?"

"I enquired the Magic Mirror."

"You mean the one that only speaks in rhyme?"

"What other Magic Mirror is there?" At this point, Lord Maliss was getting annoyed by this women's growing doubt. To both Snow and Maliss's surprise, the woman sided with neither one of them, but, instead, shoved Snow at Lord Maliss with a frustrated grunt.

"I get the sneaking suspicion that the case between the two of you is magic-induced-miscommunication. What did that stupid mirror actually say?" said the woman while rubbing her temples in frustration. Even though the woman was easily annoyed, Snow still wished she was in her grip instead of Maliss's as she attempted to suppress a wince of pain as his nails dug into her arms.

"The mirror told me, and I quote: "Your poor jealous sister met her plight trying to harm the fair Snow White." So, I swore vengeance and that I won't rest until this vengeance is complete." His grip on Snow's arms tightened and Snow wished nothing more than to hide away in the nearest dark corner.

"Wait a second. "She met her plight…" that doesn't mean this girl physically killed her. Where did you learn to understand poetry?" snapped the woman at Maliss and looked as though she wanted to smack him alongside the head.

"Then how else would she have found her end?" hissed Maliss back at the woman as though she were the worst traitor in the world.

"How am I supposed to know how your dumb sister died? It is not what I am here to do. I came here to get my wings back. If you want your sister back, help me get my wings back and cash in your wish-reward to get her back. Instead, we are here losing valuable time arguing about her time with this pretty-faced nobody as a witness." There was no way to explain this woman's behavior. She remained on a logical trail to defuse the situation yet insulting at the same time. However, despite being insulted, Snow was glad for her existence since Lord Maliss released her with an angered groan.

"Fine, we will have it your way and continue looking for Lennore." Grumbled Lord Maliss and turned to leave, but Snow White couldn't let that happen. Despite her history with Lord Maliss, she knew he was powerful and he, and his companion, knew about this Lennore who took her prince; this might be her only chance to save her beloved and her friends.

"Wait, you two know Lennore?"

"That bitch stole my wings!" answered the woman to Snow's surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"You heard me pretty-face. That bitch Lennore stole my wings and I am trying to get them back with that guy," she pointed to Maliss, "is going to help me get there in exchange for a wish."

"Wait, you grant wishes?" for a moment, Snow was hopeful to resolve her plight before the end of the day. However, that small hope was swiftly squashed.

"Can't right now sweetheart. Unless I get my hands on that bitch, wring her neck like a goose's, and take my wings back I can't grant anybody anything but a credit. An I.O.U for a wish. So, unless you can make her appear here right now, I can't help you and must be on my way. Come Maliss, lets hit the road." With that, the woman walked past Snow White and took Lord Maliss by the arm to lead him out of the chapel.

"Wait!" called Snow with desperation in her voice.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Is that all you can say?" joked the woman looking over her shoulder at Snow as she and her companion continued to head for the exit.

"I think I know where she went." At this, the woman stopped dead in her tracks and returned her gaze to Snow White.

"If you know where she is, you better spill it before I tear it out of you."

"She said to my prince that she would take him to her castle in the mountains." Snow was beginning to get annoyed by the woman's abrasive personality and held her chin high with confidence. Her answer had to solve this dilemma. To Snow's surprise, the woman let go of Maliss's arm and embraced Snow tightly; in fact, it almost crushed her ribcage.

"Pretty-face, I could kiss you. Maliss, you heard the girl, off to the mountains we g-"

"I'd hate to burst your bubble, but which mountains are we referring to? The seven peaks? The Alpes? The Himalayans? Or how about the ones across the ocean? Even if we knew the mountain range, which specific peak? We could be spending years investigating one mountain range and still don't know one thing about it." Interjected Maliss and Snow hated to admit how right he was. She did not know what mountain ranges he spoke of, but she knew it would be difficult to find a castle in a mountain. It would be like finding a pamphlet in a bookshelf filled to the brim with tombs, but she was not about to give up; not while she could still stand on her own feet and her heart beat in her chest.

"Why don't you ask that magic mirror where Lennore lives? If she knew what happened to your sister and it knew of my existence, it certainly can help you find Lennore." Again, Snow was beginning to hope she could save her love and her friends quickly, and as an added bonus, her optimism annoyed Maliss, who bared his teeth in anger at her

"I guess you have more brains than you look like." Quipped the woman and released Snow to shake her hand, finally formally introducing herself. "I am Lux, currently wingless harpy." Then Lux looked over her shoulder at Maliss and frowned at him. "Stop making that face, you are already ugly enough as it is."

This was a bit far, though Snow White. Granted, she did not like the man, but needless insults never helped anybody. Besides, they still needed access to his magic mirror. "Lux, don't you think you are being a bit cruel?"

"I do not need you to stand up for me." Responded Maliss, clearly still too angry at Snow to accept any form of charity. This, Snow, did not understand. She had never meant for his sister to die; she did not even know why that woman wished her dead?

"Look, she did not kill your sister; we cleared that. Why are you still so angry at her?" asked Lux, trying to detangle the situation before Lord Maliss blew a fuse.

"First, she is the reason my sister is dead and second, she turned me to stone."

"So you are the reason I found him as that huge ugly garden-gnome?" Lux asked Snow with a humorous smile on her face, which revealed a row of razor-sharp teeth. "Great work, how did you do it?"

"I used the cloak that turns things to stone on him, but I did that as self-defense. He was going to use it on me. I never meant to hurt-" Snow White got interrupted by Lux's boisterous laughter. Looking over Lux at Maliss, she felt guilt growing in her stomach as he looked like someone was rubbing salt in his wounds. She never meant to hurt anyone; despite what he attempted to do with her in the past, she never meant ill to him and now, after discovering his motive, she wished she had found another way to defeat him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Anyway, long introductions and mess-ups aside, is your name really Snow White?" asked Lux with a sly grin as if trying to find another good laugh.

"Y-yes. My father named me Snow White after my mother's wishes." Snow White began to bite her lower lip, hoping this 'wingless harpy' had some standard. To her dismay, Lux almost keeled over laughing and muttering how stupid the idea was to name a child after a color. Snow had never thought about it and had accepted the name as her own; she never questioned the oddity of being named this way. Surely, there had to be others with equally strange names; though she had never heard of anyone else named after a color. Though, thinking about it, Maliss's name was strange too and so was Lux's. "Well, your name is odd as well, Lux."

"Lux isn't even my name you dolt." Quipped Lux while trying to catcher her breath from laughter. "Weren't you listening? I am a harpy. I do not really have a name. I just picked Lux out of a list of words and names. I could have easily been named Barbara or Bunny while I am stuck in this form." She then sighed and whipped some tears from her eyes. "Welp, it was fun meeting you, pretty face, but Maliss and I gotta get back to his castle and interview a certain magic mirror." With that, she turned on her heel and began to head for the exit with Lord Maliss in tow.

"Wait, you are leaving me here alone?" Asked Snow in panic and gestured to take in all the chapel and the surrounding kingdom. Fear grew in her chest at the thought of being left alone in a place full of human statues frozen in mid-breath. The fear could only be compared to being trapped in a boneyard at night.

"Nah, I figured you would at least have the brains to follow us without being asked." Replied Lux without looking back.

"She is what?" was Maliss's response. "Why should we help her?" he was clearly of an opposite idea then Lux.

"Cause with her, we can bring this whole, 'Murdered Sister' shenanigans to rest. Besides, she knows of Lennore's castle in the woods."

"Mountains!" corrected Maliss.

"Whatever," Shrugged Lux, "Besides, I just want to take her along so I can see your face when the magic mirror cooperates my theory. I really need the laughs until I get my wings back. Now make yourself useful and turn into a dragon for the ride. I hate walking."

"And you expect me to carry her as well?"

"Well, we could try and send her by mail, but I do not have the coins or time to pay for postage." At this point, Lux wasn't even trying to funny with her replies. "Now quit complaining and get going, we are losing daylight and therefore time." Now, she snapped her fingers at Maliss. Snow White was surprised that Lord Maliss, the man who wanted to turn her to stone for being part of his sister's demise, would let anyone talk to him like this. Then again, if she could grant wishes after getting her wings back, then he was probably biting his tongue. Though she was not eager to have another flight in his claws, Snow would rather go with Lord Maliss and his wingless companion then be left alone here. Begrudgingly, Lord Maliss took his cape in his hands and lifted it; within a flash of red, the man before Snow White turned into a massive winged beast with red scales. Taking each woman in claw, he flew into the skies with ease.

Filled with fear, Snow White clung onto the claw holding her for dear life while clenching her eyes shut. The wind whistled in her ears as did Lux's howls of joy and, despite being covered in layers of fabric, Snow felt the chill of the air against her skin as if it crept through the stitching of her dress.

"Open your eyes and enjoy the view!" shouted Lux over the howling of the wind, "You have no idea what you are missing!"

Despite the fear she was experiencing, what Lux said planted the seed of curiosity in Snow and she dared to open her eyes, ever so slightly, and saw Lux with the expression of pure joy on her face as wind thrashed her hair. Tentatively, Snow began to peer down at the ground, several feet below. From so high up the trees, houses, farms, and animals appeared no bigger than ants and rocks; that is when it hit her. She was flying. The more she saw go past her on the ground, the more she became comfortable where she was. Carefully, she opened one hand and felt the wind rush through her fingers like water.

"I told you, you were missing out!" Lux had noticed Snows growing appreciation for flying.

All too soon, the scenery changed from lush green to darker earth tones and the vegetation became sparse. Rolling hills were replaced by jutting rocks and the blue sky turned dark grey. They had returned to The Land of Doom. The closer they came to the castle, the more Snow felt her stomach sink to her knees and by the time they landed on the tower, where Maliss attempted to turn her into a statue, Snow White felt her knees shake like a naked leave in the winter.

"Don't worry, Pretty Face. He is not going to hurt you. Except for turning into a dragon, he can't do much since you turned him into a hideous lawn ornament."

"What?" Snow White had trouble understanding what Lux was coming off with and why she was saying it.

"You heard me."

"You did not have to reveal this to everyone in the world." Hissed Maliss as he strode past the two women and into the castle. With a shrug, Lux followed Maliss, and Snow White followed Lux while trying to keep as far from Lord Maliss as possible without being left behind. After passing a large archway and through a hallway, the three were in the middle of the throne room where Snow had woken up to Maliss in her Prince's form. After approaching a set of velvet curtains, Lord Maliss turned to Lux and Snow White. "May I present to you, the Magic Mirror."

Pulling the curtain aside and to Snow's surprise, it was a mirror with a human face on the top of the frame, happily snoring away. Annoyed, Lord Maliss cleared his throat, "Magic Mirror on the wall, on my command you will show me all."

With a jolt, the face stopped snoring and gave Maliss a snobbish look. "Go away you creep. You are ruining my beauty sleep."

Snow couldn't help but chuckle at the mirror's response as did Lux, which was no surprise at all. Instead of letting Lord Maliss loos his temper over the mirror's rude response, Lux approached the mirror.

"Looking Glass upon the wall, on my request, you will show me all. Show me the truth of your Queen's plight and the role of Snow White?"

"The magic mirror is asleep, please leave a message after the beep."

Immediately, her face fell from joy to annoyance. Anything between her and her wings should have feared for its life. With a raised brow, she lifted her right hand and set her pointy nails against the mirror's glass. "Alright, I was nice enough to play your game and addressed you in rhyme. Now, I want you to tell me what I want to hear, or I'll break you into so many pieces, a beach would get jealous!"

At the sound of threats to his life, the mirror woke with a jolt and apologies to Lux before clearing his throat and changing the image of the mirror part to that of Snow White. "The fair queen met her plight trying to harm the fair Snow White."

"I know that part, but what was Snow White's role. Did she physically kill the Queen? Did she stab her or clubbed her over the head? Did she force the woman to wear red-hot iron shoes and dance until she falls dead?" with annoyance growing in her voice, Lux ran her nails across the mirror's reflective surface, inducing thing scratches, barely visible, and inflicted great pain onto the poor mirror.

"EEK! Alright! Alright! I shall tell you what happened that fateful night!" he let out a sigh of relieve when Lux took her nails off his surface. Again, the image changed to Snow White, however, this time she was in her glass coffin "Asleep at though dead, fair Snow White laid on her mourning bed. Blind with glee, the queen began to flee, but fell far and now is no longer fair."

At that, Snow looked over at Lord Maliss. The look of utter sorrow on that man's face sent a shot of pain to Snow White's chest.


	4. Chapter 4

"Great, now we can file the Queen's case away," stated Lux, completely ignoring Snow and Lord Maliss, "now Magic Mirror, where is the Sorceress Lennore? Where is the bitch that stole my wings?"

The Magic Mirror clears his throat and the image of Lennore appears in his glass, "Past the seven pines, High above the mountain mines, Lennore lives in a cave of gold and glamor."

"I know that she lives in the mountains, but where exactly does she live?" Anger began to grow in Lux's voice and her nails return to the surface of the mirror.

"Uhm…. well…Were exactly Lennore lives I cannot say, but the back of her castle overlooks a bay." Was the Mirror's reply, he began to get nervous as he sensed the anger within the wingless harpy.

"That doesn't answer my question your useless trinket. Does Lennore live. I need to find her if I ever want to have my wings back. Does that go through your stupid silver skull?" Lux's voice boomed off the stone walls of the throne room. Snow White shrank back a little at the anger in Lux's voice.

"I…uhm…well…Lennore's lair is very well hidden- "

"I don't give a damn how well hidden it is! Where is her lair?"

"At the foot of her mountain lair lives a village without any care- "Lux didn't let the mirror finish his sentence. She had heard all these advice before. With an angry roar, that could easily rival that of a dragon, and smashed the mirror with her bare fist. The moment the Mirrors reflective surface is broken, the spell that gave the mirror live dissipated and the living mirror returned to be an inanimate, broken object. Still fuming with rage, Lux turns her attention to Lord Maliss.

"Your useless mirror is broken!" then she walks down a randomly chosen hallway.

"Wait, where is she going? She broke your mirror, how are we going to find Lennore now?" panic edged Snow White's voice as she asked Lord Maliss.

"She is walking off her anger; she will be fine, so leave her. The mirror can be replaced." Replied Lord Maliss in a cold tone of voice. The day had been long, and their goal seemed farther away then ever. "I'll see if any nearby villages fit the description we have. I suggest you get some rest; tomorrow Lux is going to drag us through the world until she finds Lennore and gets her wings back."

Snow White looked at Lord Maliss in surprise, "Wait, you are letting me stay here?"

"I have no more reason to seek revenge, so my anger towards you is no longer valid. You may stay here, or you can leave, return to your own castle. I don't care." Replied Maliss with an exhausted sigh and walked down another hallway, leaving Snow White by herself in the Throne Room. Snow White watches her former enemy disappear into the shadows of the castle and questions herself how to feel about him. They weren't enemies anymore; if they were, he would have used the opportunity to kill her. However, they weren't friends either; for the first time in her life, Snow White felt as though she were in a state of limbo. In addition, she didn't know if it was wise to keep heling Lux if Maliss was in her company. Would it be safe for her to go with them? If she didn't, there was no guarantee that her friends and fiancé would be saved. Perhaps it would be a wise idea to cement their alliance?

With a shaky step, Snow White made to follow the path Maliss took. Soon she was walking in darkness, with her eyes adjusting just enough for her to see the outlines of door to either side of her. Worryingly, she questioned every door she passed. She hadn't heard any door open immediately after he left her side and, by the appearance of each door she passed, the doors would have made a sound when opened. Slowly, she walked through the dark hallway, beginning to worry that she was lost within the bowels of the castle when she noticed a faint glow of light in the distance. Snow's heart skipped a beat; surely, if there was light, someone had to be there. Reaching the end of the hallway, she came to a set of large double doors made of dark wood and held together by iron bars. Clearly, whatever lay beyond those doors was very important to be guarded by such stable doors. Grabbing her confidence, Snow knocked on the doors.

"Come in." the voice belonged to Lord Maliss. Now she knew where he was and again concern grew within Snow's chest. She had no idea what lay beyond those doors, she only knew Lord Maliss waited beyond them. However, Snow gathered the shreds of her confidence and pulled open one of the heavy doors; it took a lot of strength to budge them, but she managed to crack it open just wide enough for her to slip in. Inside the room, she found Lord Maliss sitting at a large oak table surrounded by maps.

"Umm…I just wanted to know if you needed help." It was a poor excuse, but an excuse, nonetheless.

"Unless you suddenly gained psychic powers and can see beyond the seen, I don't think you can be of much use."

"How difficult could it be to find a village by a bay surrounded by mountains?" at this Lord Maliss raised an eyebrow at her.

"Clearly, you have never seen a map of this country. We don't even know if Lennore's lair is even located in this country. She could be anywhere on the planet."

"Huh, how many could there be?" Snow asked again. She had never though of anything beyond the handful of kingdoms she knew. Instead of lecturing her, Lord Maliss simply pointed to the wall behind Snow White. Snow turned to where Maliss was pointing and lay eyes on a huge wall tapestry with a map of the world embroidered on it. In large red lettering, Snow White could read the names of countries, and in smaller letters, she could read the names of individual kingdoms and their respective boarders. There were so many, Snow could have never imagined that there were so many in the world. Some kingdoms were ordained with gold and silver pins.

"Are those pins possible places Lennore could be?" asked Snow, unable to take her eyes off the huge map.

"No, I am looking for places she could be on these smaller, more detailed maps. Those pins are places my sister and I have been. Mine are the silver pins" Snow's jaw dropped open at the sight of so many silver pins. Clearly, her former enemy was a well-traveled man.

"You have been to all those places?" Snow White asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, I didn't become the owner of a castle until I inherited this one. So, I traveled the world to expand my knowledge." Replied Maliss without looking up from his maps.

"Can you tell me about some of these places?" Asked Snow White full of excitement, sounding more like a child asking their parent for permission to go and play with friends.

Lord Maliss rolled his eyes at Snow's request and made eye contact with her. "I am a bit busy looking for all the known villages fitting the mirror's description." At that, Snow's shoulders visibly slumped, "If you want, I can tell you about some of these places when we begin our travels. However, right now, I am busy."

"I understand," replied Snow and her shoulders rose a little after being reassured that she could learn of some of the places this man had been to. "Do…do you need any help with finding those villages?"

With a sigh, Lord Maliss slowly shook his head, clearly, he was tired. "There isn't much you could do to help. I suggest you get some rest instead. We will have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Snow White bit her cheek at this; there was no way she would be a freeloader in this quest. She would pull her own weight in this adventure. "I am not tired," this was clearly a lie, Snow White had been awake since early in the day and the events of her wedding day had sapped her of her energy. Her heart and body demanded some rest. "I can be of some help."

Lord Maliss inwardly sight and handed Snow White five rolled up maps. "I have found a few villages nearby that fit the mirror's description. If you really want to help, make your best guess at which village to visit first."

"okay, but where do we go from there?"

"Well, we could ask the local population if they know of a Sorceress fitting Lennore's description. She doesn't sound like the type of person to remain inconspicuous; so, we should be able to get some good information from the locals. If she is near, the people would be able to say so." Snow White smiled at that idea.

"Sounds like a good plan."


End file.
